


Coffee & Biscuits

by cherryjam (blueskull)



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Café, F/F, Fluff, and cafes, coffee biscuits, just fluff, not really any explicit or obvious spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24368500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueskull/pseuds/cherryjam
Summary: Gaia and Ryne finally go on that coffee biscuit date.
Relationships: Gaia/Ryne | Minfilia
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Coffee & Biscuits

“Oh! I think this is it!” Ryne gestures to the coffee shop they’ve stopped beneath, pointing up at the sign. It reads _Misted Glass Cafe_.

An odd name, but not much weirder than “Gaia”, the so-named girl thinks.

Her blonde companion pushes the door open, and it jingles, briefly catching the attention of the Ronso server standing at the counter. There’s a small lineup already, and a few of the tables are already occupied, but there’s more than enough space for Gaia and Ryne to take a seat.

The little warm cafe smells of coffee. There’s something strangely comforting about the scent. Familiar, maybe? The cafe is darkly furnished, but instead of feeling foreboding, it feels warm and welcoming. Cozy. It’s entirely unlike the fake, artificiality of Eulmore -- or what was once Eulmore. She... _wants_ to be here.

The wait to order is short. Ryne takes only a moment to decide upon the tea she wants with her coffee biscuits. Wait...tea?

“Aren’t these _coffee_ biscuits?” the dark-haired girl queries. Ryne looks back at her with an effervescent smile.

“They’re coffee biscuits, but that doesn’t mean you eat them _with_ coffee! They’re just flavoured with it. I don’t really like coffee, anyway...”

Gaia sighs in exasperation. That explanation still seems utterly ridiculous. “If you don’t like coffee, then why get biscuits made with them...?”

“I’ve heard they’re good! And I wanted to try them with you.”

Her heart does that funny thing in her chest, and Gaia has to physically turn away for some reason. Her face feels hot.

“Well?” Ryne chatters away. Gaia can feel her hand on one of her sleeves, a gentle tug back to her. “What are you going to get?”

Forcing her expression into a no-nonsense scowl, Gaia turns back to the counter and all but glares at the menu. She’ll get the biscuits, of course...

Something tells her she’ll like the coffee a little more than Ryne, so she ends up buying one of those dark-looking ones. Call it intuition. Ryne pays for her, which Gaia is a little annoyed by, but it can’t be helped when she doesn’t have that much gil yet.

She’ll just have to pay her back some other time...

The two girls each take a seat at one of the small tables near the counter. A vase of fake flowers sits in the centre on the green tablecloth, and for some reason Gaia can’t tear her gaze away from them. Doesn’t this feel sort of like a...what’s the word?

“I heard you’re supposed to dip the biscuits in coffee!” Ryne begins as she fiddles a little with her plate of biscuits, turning it in an aimless circle.

“Won’t that make them soggy?” Gaia asks, brushing some hair behind her ear. She’s thankful for the distraction.

“I guess, but maybe that’s the point!”

It’s not long before Ryne’s name is called, and she excuses herself with a bright smile to retrieve their drinks. Gaia absentmindedly watches the other girl as she walks away, making brief idle chatter with the barista. If Gaia cares enough, she could probably hear their conversation from here...

But it’s just something about the cafe’s decor.

Ryne’s blue eyes are bright with excitement as she returns, one steaming mug in each hand.

“Your coffee,” she announces, leaning slightly over the table as she places the cup closer to Gaia’s side. Then she takes her seat once more, cupping both hands around her cup. It’s not long before she grimaces and releases it, however. “Ouch! It’s hot. So be careful!”

Gaia snorts, sliding her mug along the cloth toward her plate. “I didn’t need you to tell me that.”

All she gets in response is a sheepish grin. Despite herself, Gaia finds her gaze flicking to Ryne’s hands. She can’t see the other girl’s palms, because she’s placed them on the table, but —

“You’re not hurt, are you?” She feels vaguely uneasy for some reason.

“I’m fine! There’s no need to worry about me.” Ryne waves one hand self-deprecatingly. The girl sitting across from her at the table narrows her eyes and purses her lips.

“Right...”

Well, she supposes that so long as it’s nothing serious...it’s fine...

A comfortable silence blankets them as they wait for their drinks to cool. Gaia is the first to try hers; it’s hot enough that it’s mildly unpleasant to drink, but it’s not something she especially minds. The flavour is rich and creamy, and just a bit familiar. Perhaps she’s drunk something like this before.

Ryne takes a sip of her drink too, pausing to comment, “It’s good!” before taking another, larger gulp. “It’s just sweet enough. How’s your coffee, Gaia?”

The way Ryne says her name never fails to make her chest get all weirdly twisted up in her rib cage.

“It’s fine, I guess. What about your coffee biscuits?” Gaia peers up from beneath her dark eyelashes to watch the blonde pick up one of them.

“Let’s see!” Lips curving upward, Ryne dips approximately half the biscuit into her tea mug, then lifts it to her lips to bite.

“Not going to try it plain first?”

The girl shakes her head as she chews.

“I’m trying it the way it’s meant to be eaten — and it’s really good! You should try it, Gaia!” As if to punctuate her point, Ryne dips the rest of the biscuit into her tea and pops it into her mouth.

Ryne really has no way of knowing if it’s good or not...

Since Gaia has coffee, not tea.

But with a sigh and a shrug, Gaia picks up one of her biscuits and dunks it into her coffee. She’s not as graceful as Ryne is about it, and ends up sloshing a little coffee onto the table. She dabs at it with her napkin and bites into the treat.

Oh -- it really does taste...good. The coffee flavour of the biscuit is sweeter than the drink, and while the coffee _does_ make it soggy, the warmth of it makes it...pleasant.

Ryne stares at her excitedly. “Well? Do you like it?”

“It’s all right.” She tries to sound gruff, like she doesn’t really care, but she almost can’t stop herself from smiling when she sees Ryne beaming at her in turn.

“That’s wonderful! Hey -- do you mind if I try it?” The blonde girl holds up one cookie and jerks her chin slightly, her gaze falling lower to the tablecloth.

“...What?” It takes her a second to understand what Ryne means. She looks down to stare blankly at her coffee. “You want to...?” Luckily, Ryne seems to understand her question without her having to actually say it.

“Yes!” she says easily. “I’d like to try my biscuit with your coffee.” She pauses a moment, then continues, “And you can try yours with my tea if you like!”

\-- Gaia does her best to find a fault in this proposal, she really does. Well...there’s one glaring problem she _can_ think of, but it dissipates the moment she sees how utterly _eager_ Ryne looks.

“Sure, I -- whatever...all I have to do is dunk it in, right?” she asks. She’s supposed to sound annoyed -- and she’s sure she does -- but her blonde companion simply looks gleeful.

Their next biscuits dunked in the others’ beverages -- Gaia finds the tea even sweeter than the coffee, maybe cloyingly so. Though Ryne evidently seems to prefer her tea, given the mildly perplexed expression she makes.

“What do you think Gaia?” Ryne asks cheerfully as she finishes her biscuit.

“It was -- good,” the darker-haired girl finally responds, pretending to inspect one of her nails, if only to try to avoid looking at the sunshine smile the girl presents her.

“Wonderful!” The blonde leans back in her seat, smiling contentedly. A silence passes over them briefly. “You know...” That soft expression has never left Ryne’s face. “I’m really glad I came here with you! I think these biscuits wouldn’t have tasted even half as good if I’d been alone.”

It takes a moment before the full weight of her words actually _hit_ Gaia, and she can’t stop the blush that immediately rises to her cheeks, colouring the tips of her ears as she bows her head down to hide her expression with her bangs.

“I -- yeah -- w-whatever...”


End file.
